JAPAN

Land Of The Rising Sun.

By: Ashray Adhikari PG/SS/11-13

Japan : Introduction
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".

Japan : Introduction
The flag of Japan is known as Hinomaru, ,"sun disc. The white part stands for peace and honesty. The red one for hardiness, bravery, strength and valour.

Japan: General Information

Full name: Japan Population: 126.9 million (UN, 2010) Capital: Tokyo Major language: Japanese. English is spoken in Tokyo and other large cities but is less usual in rural areas. Major religions: Shintoism and Buddhism .There is a Christian minority. Time Zone: GMT + 9

Japan: General Information

Monetary unit: Yen Economy: Japan has the world's third-largest economy (main exports: vehicles, computer parts, chemicals, scientific instruments and watches) Government: Constitutional Monarchy. Head of state: Emperor Akihito Prime minister: Yoshihiko Noda

Japan : Geography.
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshu, Hokkaid, Kyushu and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area.

Japan : Brief History

In the FEUDAL ERA (12th-19th century), a new ruling class of warriors emerged,The SAMURAI . ODA NOBUNAGA, conquered numerous other warlords and had ALMOST UNIFIED JAPAN when he was assassinated in 1582. TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI succeeded him and UNITED THE LAND in 1590 but OPEN WAR broke out following his death. TOKUGAWA IEYASU defeated all rival clans in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 and was appointed SHOGUN . The Tokugawa shogunate began the ISOLATIONIST SAKOKU (=locked country) POLICY that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as the EDO PERIOD

Japan : Brief History

In 1854, the US Navy forced the opening of Japan to the outside world. Ensuing economic and political crises led to the BOSHIN WAR and the establishment of a CENTRALIZED STATE unified under the name of the EMPEROR (MEIJI RESTORATION). On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked the US naval base in PEARL HARBOR. This act brought the USA into WWII. After the devastating atomic bombings of HIROSHIMA and NAGASAKI in 1945, Japan surrendered on 15 August. The war cost Japan millions of lives and left much of the countrys industry and infrastructure destroyed.

Japan : Post World War II

Japan later achieved exceptional growth to become one of the world's most powerful economies. The period of overall real economic growth from the 1960s to the 1980s has been called the Japanese post-war economic miracle: it averaged 7.5 percent in the 1960s and 1970s, and 3.2 percent in the 1980s and early 1990s. As of 2011, Japan is the third largest national economy in the world, after the United States and China, in terms of nominal GDP, and the fourth largest national economy in the world, after the United States, China and India in terms of purchasing power parity.

Japan : Recent Events.

On 11th March, the biggest EARTHQUAKE on record to hit Japan (8.9 of magnitude) caused widespread destruction across the country. A 10 meter high TSUNAMI followed up that further devastated Japan. In addition to the natural disaster, a nuclear emergency emerged. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from the vicinity of the Fukushima Daiishi nuclear power plant after two explosions. Technicians battled to prevent a reactor meltdown trying to cool it with sea water. But a number of explosions have led to a release of radiation on a number of occasions.

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